1. I’ve got this great idea for a post!

Hey, I’ve got some interesting information I’d like to post. There’s this thing happening right now on the web and I can record it with some screen-capture software. Then I’ll make a meme out of it and post it on the web. It’ll be great! Everyone will share it and I’ll have contributed to the gentrification of The Internet.

2. Gotta get that screen-recording software running

So, I’ll need to install some software to make this thing. What was the name of that software I used years and years ago? Camtasia? Is that it? Ahh, yeah. It worked great back then. Let’s install it.

3. Hmm, could something be wrong with this installation? Nahhh.

Hmm, last time I was installing this I don’t remember the software asking me over and over again if I “AGREE” to installing this stuff. Doesn’t it just have to ask me “once” if I agree?

Oh well. I’ve used this stuff before and it worked great, so let’s keep moving.

Intermission

4. I’ve made a terrible mistake

…Why is my computer now flooding with biki babes and product suggestions? Shouldn’t it be recording?

It couldn’t be that I…a comfortable computer user…who even knows a little bit of Javascript and CSS…it couldn’t be that anyone such as me…so smart as I am…could…dang…

5. Sttaahhhhhp! Please!

5. The only solution

And we’ll purge this part of my hard drive…and this part…and this part…. Minor detour. Should only take…oh…all night or so to fix.

Hours and hours later…

6. Good to go again…

There we go. I just had to run eighteen full-system scans, download three types of malware removal, and spend $60 on software. There’s only a few programs that are permanently uninstallable, due to problems with the computer registry, and I can still access most of my documents folder. That’ll do. So, let’s write that blog post…

7. Meanwhile…deep within the belly of my computer…

…I won’t be up all night thinking about what might still be lurking in the belly of my desktop beast…really, I won’t…

This is part 4 of a retelling of a scene from The Once and Future King book series, by T.H. White. To read the preceding part of this story sequence, click here.

What is done, is done

Mordred’s sword did not do the full task of slaying the creature, and the poor beast writhed in pain. Gawain raised his sword and followed Mordred’s action, and then all together the four boys set about the work of finishing the creature off. Continue reading →

This is part 3 of a retelling of a scene from The Once and Future King book series, by T.H. White.

A maiden’s power

When a unicorn feels the presence of an innocent young maiden in its wood it responds by coming to greet her.

For our young maiden, Meg, it was an experience beyond expectation. Its neck was full of grace and power, and its mane flowed as though it was underwater. She stopped squirming and dried her eyes as the unicorn trotted through the tall grass towards her. Continue reading →

This is a continuation. To read the first part of this story, click here.

They hatch a plan

One day, while peering out the window watching their mother in the courtyard below the four boys overheard shouting with her servants. It appeared that in her desire to prove to herself she was still a beautiful young maiden she had tried to hunt down a unicorn–a feat which can only be accomplished by a virgin. Their mother, of course, wasn’t, and so spent the entire night in the forest waiting for a unicorn that would never come. She was angry at this, and likely embarrassed in front of the servants, and the sound of her shouting drew particular interest to her boys.

They had not seen her nor spoken with her more than a sentence or two for most of their lives. They felt that there must be something wrong with them for her to not spend any time raising her children. Hearing her so upset gave them an idea of how they could prove their worth. Continue reading →

This scene from T.H. White’s The Once and Future King I read years ago stays in my memory. Today I’m retelling it in my own words.

Detail – The Unicorn is Attacked, ca. 1495–1505

Mordred and Gawain had messed up childhoods

I’ve always loved this scene from T.H. White’s Arthurian series. I haven’t read it in several years and am not going to bother rereading it now, since it’s more fun to just tell it from memory.

Want to skip straight to reading the scene? Scroll down to the next header!

To give you a quick background on what you’re about to see, this scene takes place at the beginning of the second book in the series. Elsewhere, Arthur has already drawn the sword from the stone, and is learning how to be king.

His nephews, on the other hand, are still children. They live on the island of Orkney with their mother, who is a witch–the bad sort of witch.

The children by name are Gawain, Gahareth, Agravain, and Mordred.

Gawain is the big, tall, brawny and brave one. He’s a bit dumb, has red curly hair, and enjoys pushing the others around.

Gahareth and Agravain are complete opposites, but we won’t go into too many details for the sake of brevity.

Now Mordred is the odd one. You see, Mordred is supposedly King Arthur’s “nephew”–at least, that’s what everyone thinks. In truth, he’s more than that: he’s also King Arthur’s bastard incestuous son. Continue reading →

…indeed, ’tis come, my friends, to talk of many things…

Alright, peeps, it’s time to finally start opening up about this project I’ve worked on for the last four and a half years. We finished the writing of it back in May. (And yes, it took a while. But it was worth it. I think you’ll love it.)

It’s for kids ages 8-12, roughly 30,000 words (relatively short), and I plan on illustrating it as heavily as possible!

(So great to be back on my home turf of illustration. Writing was a totally new experience. But I’m grateful to have the basics under my belt, and we’ll be doing more stories as time goes on.)

The novel is about a young spider. You’ll find out more over the next few months.

Today I finished putting together the 3D model photo reference for the book cover. Check it out!

Cover Jacket – 3D Photo Reference

This is the first 3D model I’ve done in well over a decade, and the second one in my life. All I have to say is, WOW, now that I know how to do it, creating photo reference is dramatically easier.

There’s still a number of things that I’d rather do with live photo reference for now—such as moss and texture.

Watch it live!

The book cover painting is happening live via my account at livestream.com throughout the next ten or fifteen days. Either tomorrow or Wednesday I’ll break out the paint brush.

Post navigation

About this Blog

I'm a teacher, storyteller, husband, and father. My last name sounds just like "Zeus", but with a "B". This site is a place to share my (ultra messy) life with you--a journal of the journey so to say. The blog focuses around a few things, but storytelling is huge, and one day I hope to release a heroic epic tale.

Short Stories Progress

Current Rough Draft

22% Complete

650 of 3,000 words

Progress on my current rough draft. No publisher yet.

Short Stories Finished

Ready to submit to publishers

0% Complete

of 30,000 words

(Word count is just a guess!)

Short Story Touchdowns

Picked up by a publisher etc.

0% Complete

of 9,000 words

Three accepted submissions! (Word count is just a guess.)

Novella Progress

My next full-length novella

0% Complete

of 30,000 words

Like WESTLY, but new!

Epic Story

Stage 1 of 5 - Rough Layout/World Building

0% Complete

of 1,000,000 words

An epic and massive adventure. This one could take decades to finish! (Word count is just a wild guess for now.)

I want to subscribe! Sign me up for:Weekly UpdatesMonthly UpdatesJust Once or Twice a Year

Leave this field empty if you're human:

Archives

Archives

Categories

Categories

Search for:

Affiliate Disclosure

On my site I occasionally use affiliate links to amazon's store page. When you use these links to purchase a book or other product I receive a small commission. It costs you nothing more than what you would pay normally and it helps to support my site. Thank you!